Should the Thunder look into trading for Clippers DeAndre Jordan?

Traditionally, December 15 is when trade season in the NBA begins, and leading into it, people begin to take inventory and determine which teams should be buying and which should be selling.

Among the teams that were considered to be playoff contenders entering the season, the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers are two teams that people believe may be interested in divesting.

Writing for FanSided.com, Morgan Dunn identifies five potential trade destinations for DeAndre Jordan, who could become a free agent this coming summer. Although the Clippers have reportedly had some internal discussions related to an extension for Jordan, if the franchise is considering pulling the plug and rebuilding, it would make perfect sense for them to trade him away.

Dunn identifies the Wizards, Bucks, Celtics and Cavaliers are teams that might make sense for Jordan, as well as the Thunder.

[T]he Thunder are off to an 8-11 start that may have the organization a bit worried about their ability to compete with the likes of the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, two teams that are rolling right now and should continue to do so throughout the season.

Perhaps a Big 3 is not enough for the Thunder; maybe they should pursue a Big 4. That’s where Jordan comes in. Jordan would give the Thunder a rock to depend on defensively, a guy that can gobble up rebounds and let their offensively-gifted trio focus on what they do best.

While Jordan is certainly an effective player, the most obvious issue with him would be his poor free throw shooting. He’s a career 43 percent shooter from the charity stripe, though it should be noted that he’s hitting a career-high 62 percent from the line through 19 games this season.

Unfortunately, his free throw shooting in the playoffs is even worse; he’s connected on just 40.4 percent of his attempts from the line over the course of his 57 career postseason appearances. Over the past few years, we’ve seen his free throw shooting become an issue for Doc Rivers, so any team trading for Jordan would have to keep that in mind.

That said, his athleticism, ability to play above the rim and guard multiple positions would probably make him an asset to a majority of teams in the league… But would he be better for the team than Steven Adams? That’s probably who the primary piece heading back to the Clippers would have to be, as the Thunder probably don’t have the short-term contracts or young players with enough upside to get the deal done otherwise.

Plus, it’s also worth mentioning that Adams has three more seasons left on his current deal after this season. He’ll average about $25 million per year. Still, that could be a pro for the Clippers: they’d get an in-prime center (Adams is just 24 years old) who’s locked up for a few years in exchange for one that could decide to leave them this summer. Maybe it would make sense for them.

This deal is a simple one, a one-for-one. Adams and Jordan have their similarities as players, but Jordan is the superior option in the short-term. Still just 24, Adams is already a very good big man and retains upside. This trade seems like a good match for the timetables of these two organizations. Oklahoma City may end up being the team that balks at such a deal, as Adams doesn’t get his due around the league, but they might feel that the upgrade is significant enough for a season in which they’d like to contend for the NBA title.

Aside from the emotional attachment to Adams, absent some sort of extend-and-trade with Jordan, bringing him in would mean that he would join Carmelo Anthony and Paul George as players who could decide to bolt this coming offseason, and the circus around that alone would probably be something worth avoiding.

Still, with the Thunder heading into their 20th game of the season at just 8-11, you can rest assured that Sam Presti is taking inventory and trying to figure out ways to make the team better.

Pursuing a trade for Jordan, on some levels, could make some sense.

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